The 10 most expensive U.S. earthquakes

Damage from the earthquake that jolted northern California Sunday morning could amount to more than $1 billion, according to an initial estimate by the U.S. Geological Survey.

That would rank the 6.1 magnitude quake, which left extensive and widespread damage, among the most expensive in terms of damage to homes and other infrastructure.

Nearly all of the 10 most expensive earthquakes in U.S. history have hit California.

Here is the list, with cost figures not adjusted for inflation, according to the Insurance Information Institute and USGS:

1. January 17, 1994: $44 billion. The 6.7 quake that hit California's San Fernando Valley has come to be known as the Northridge quake. Only about $15 billion of the damage was covered by insurance policies. It killed 60 people and injured more than 7,000, the USGS says.

Buildings crumbled in the 1994 Northridge earthquake, rated the most expensive in U.S. history.

2. October 17, 1989: $10 billion. The last time the San Francisco Bay region shook like it did on Sunday was the 6.9 magnitude Loma Prieta earthquake.

4. March 27-28, 1964: $570 million. The Great Alaska Earthquake was the second-strongest earthquake ever recorded and lasted about three minutes, according to the USGS. It leveled buildings and caused landslides, then was followed by a tsunami that pummeled coastal towns.

5. February 9, 1971: $553 million. It took just 60 seconds of shaking for highway overpasses in the San Fernando Valley to collapse from the magnitude 6.6 earthquake. Only $35 million was covered by insurance policies.

6. April 18, 1906: $524 million. The legacy of the Great 1906 San Francisco Earthquake isn't the trembling ground, but the fires it caused. The official death toll was 700, although the USGS said that figure "underestimate(d) the total loss of life by a factor of 3 or 4."

7. October 1, 1987: $360 million. Two dozen bridges in the Los Angeles area were damaged by the 5.9 magnitude Whittier Narrows earthquake.

8. April 4, 2010: $150 million. The so-called Easter Earthquake was a magnitude 7.2 and shook San Diego, Los Angeles and parts of Arizona.

The mansion that measured earthquakes

9. June 28, 1992: $100 million. Two earthquakes, rated at 7.6 and 6.7, about 17 miles apart, shook Southern California.

10. September 3, 2000: $80 million. This magnitude 5.0 earthquake in the Napa area caused "considerable damage," according to the USGS.